Basic & necessary kitchen tools
Discussion
Now as you know I am about as far removed from a chef as anyone could be, but I am bored of cheese butties & beans on bread (toast is hit and miss).
Having got/downloaded the recipes from the previous post I did and joined the FB group SORTED, it's time to start "cooking".
Now I don't have a lot of spare cash, and kitchenware in Dubai is expensive, plus its getting hot & humid now but salads are boring.
So I need a list of the basic stuff I can't not cook with.
I have in my kitchen:
1 big frying pan
1 small frying pan
1 big round pan
1 medium round pan
1 small(ish) round pan
1 set of knives (1 bread and 3 smaller ones which are not brilliant but they can cut tomatoes)
1 chopping board
1 can opener
1 microwave that you put on then stop when things are done / burnt (no timer - its broke)
1 BIG fire extinguisher
And go....
Claire
Having got/downloaded the recipes from the previous post I did and joined the FB group SORTED, it's time to start "cooking".
Now I don't have a lot of spare cash, and kitchenware in Dubai is expensive, plus its getting hot & humid now but salads are boring.
So I need a list of the basic stuff I can't not cook with.
I have in my kitchen:
1 big frying pan
1 small frying pan
1 big round pan
1 medium round pan
1 small(ish) round pan
1 set of knives (1 bread and 3 smaller ones which are not brilliant but they can cut tomatoes)
1 chopping board
1 can opener
1 microwave that you put on then stop when things are done / burnt (no timer - its broke)
1 BIG fire extinguisher
And go....
Claire
Do you have an oven?
If so, get a couple of baking trays for sticking stuff in the oven, use foil inside the trays to save washing up.
Buy a colander and you can make pasta/rice dishes.
Stuff isn't expensive if you buy it in Choithram's etc.
OK the quality isn't great but for something like a colander it hardly matters.
If so, get a couple of baking trays for sticking stuff in the oven, use foil inside the trays to save washing up.
Buy a colander and you can make pasta/rice dishes.
Stuff isn't expensive if you buy it in Choithram's etc.
OK the quality isn't great but for something like a colander it hardly matters.
A decent blender. For the 'non cook', smoothies are a good way of eating more healthily and are quick and easy to make.
Get one that's powerful enough to crush ice / frozen fruit for cocktails. Tacky I know, but frozen pineapple whizzed together with Malibu is
and one of your 5 a day.
Get one that's powerful enough to crush ice / frozen fruit for cocktails. Tacky I know, but frozen pineapple whizzed together with Malibu is
and one of your 5 a day.One of these
You can use it on the hob and in the oven. Good for chilli, curry, jambalaya, frying (protects hob from food spitting), casseroles, soup, with a collander you can do rice and pasta. If you have a freezer, handy for making batches of stuff to freeze.
I know MC will turn up her nose (I think she was pleasntly surprised by the hot chilli), but Colemans packet sauces are a godsend for the non-chef. I lived on these for years.
http://www.colmans.co.uk/our-range/recipe-mixes/
Im sure you can find a kind soul to send you some over
You can use it on the hob and in the oven. Good for chilli, curry, jambalaya, frying (protects hob from food spitting), casseroles, soup, with a collander you can do rice and pasta. If you have a freezer, handy for making batches of stuff to freeze.
I know MC will turn up her nose (I think she was pleasntly surprised by the hot chilli), but Colemans packet sauces are a godsend for the non-chef. I lived on these for years.
http://www.colmans.co.uk/our-range/recipe-mixes/
Im sure you can find a kind soul to send you some over
Cotty said:
Gaffer said:
Cheers MC. Will one of them hand held thingys do..? limited with worktop/cupboard space
The hand held ones are good for soups but I think you need a decent stand alone one to crush ice/frozen fruit. But I stand to be corrected. I've got the Waring Classic in chrome because I'm a marketer's dream who will happily pay well over the odds for something just because it looks nice:
At £179 it's not cheap, but the motor has a lifetime guarantee. One for the birthday / Xmas list?
NB: I would never sneer at packet spice mixes. Hey, I eat Pot Noodle and Fray Bentos tinned pies.
Gaffer said:
suff...
- waves, it's been far too long, hope you're enjoying life.
Im in a similar situation, I have lived on my own for nearly 3 years and never got past eating ready meals which to be frank im sick of!
Any good websites for simple cooking ideas? I can boil eggs, cook beans and toast and mac & cheese but thats about it.
I do have a set of knives I got cheap from Tesco and some pots and pans which I was given as a moving in present, Circulon stuff.
However I have never cooked anything much, would love to do a roast!
Oh I can cook nice steaks!
Any good websites for simple cooking ideas? I can boil eggs, cook beans and toast and mac & cheese but thats about it.
I do have a set of knives I got cheap from Tesco and some pots and pans which I was given as a moving in present, Circulon stuff.
However I have never cooked anything much, would love to do a roast!
Oh I can cook nice steaks!
In my experience (and ok, I'm not a chef, but I do cook a lot - especially for 5 years when I lived alone) the absolute essentials that you should not scrimp on are:
One or two REALLY GOOD stainless steel knives - you simply cannot chop / cook with cheap rubish that keeps going blunt, and:
Two or three REALLY GOOD pans - cast iron Le Crueset pay for themselves by allowing you to control the latent heat in the pan easily, and not wearing out.
My Le Crueset set is 12 years old - three pans and a frying skillet was less than £100, and are like new even now.
Everything else in the kitchen can be cheap stuff that you throw away, doesn't really matter.
Ooh actually - tell a lie, if you like stir-frys, then the same applies - get a REALLY good Wok. Cheap ones go black and sticky within weeks, becasue in a Wok you generally use very high heats.
HTH.
One or two REALLY GOOD stainless steel knives - you simply cannot chop / cook with cheap rubish that keeps going blunt, and:
Two or three REALLY GOOD pans - cast iron Le Crueset pay for themselves by allowing you to control the latent heat in the pan easily, and not wearing out.
My Le Crueset set is 12 years old - three pans and a frying skillet was less than £100, and are like new even now.
Everything else in the kitchen can be cheap stuff that you throw away, doesn't really matter.
Ooh actually - tell a lie, if you like stir-frys, then the same applies - get a REALLY good Wok. Cheap ones go black and sticky within weeks, becasue in a Wok you generally use very high heats.
HTH.
May be so simple, but a jug for mixing stuff in(like eggs etc). Scrambled egg when cooked with to creamy perfection on Bagel or the other more scrambled way on Toast are brilliant as dinner( or Lunch maybe to you).
A oven dish for pasta bakes. Very easy to make. Cook some pasta in a saucepan and while your doing that fry some chunks of chicken breast. 15 mins tops for that part. Then throw into the dish with a pre made Carbonara sauce and some grated cheese mixed in and sit in the oven for 20 mins or so. Lovely.
A oven dish for pasta bakes. Very easy to make. Cook some pasta in a saucepan and while your doing that fry some chunks of chicken breast. 15 mins tops for that part. Then throw into the dish with a pre made Carbonara sauce and some grated cheese mixed in and sit in the oven for 20 mins or so. Lovely.
Edited by joe58 on Monday 9th April 21:21
Measuring jug and weighing scales.
Until you gain confidence with how much of everything you deal with goes in, it is in your best interests to be able to measure the right amounts as per the recipe.
After a bit, most recipes will be done the way you like it, with more or less of certain things in it.
Some things (especially baked goods) do need to have the right proportions of each ingredient for them to work.
Until you gain confidence with how much of everything you deal with goes in, it is in your best interests to be able to measure the right amounts as per the recipe.
After a bit, most recipes will be done the way you like it, with more or less of certain things in it.
Some things (especially baked goods) do need to have the right proportions of each ingredient for them to work.
Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff